Outspoken Tory councillor escapes sanction but has WhatsApp messages exposed
Cllr Scott Brown was allowed to keep the tory whip but his private messages about colleagues were publicly revealed
An Earls Barton unitary councillor who blasted the council’s decision to charge for green waste collections has been allowed to remain as a Conservative after a vote at a ‘lively’ meeting this week.
Scott Brown faced having sanctions applied and the whip being withdrawn because of comments he had made on social media about the controversial decision to start charging all those in North Northamptonshire for their green waste to be collected.
Currently only residents in the East of the area pay a charge for the service, and the decision to bring in a £40 cost across the rest of the North Northamptonshire area, was objected to by several thousands of residents and also unpopular with many inside the Conservative group.
However Brown, who was in trouble last year for voting against the decision to have the council’s scrutiny committee chaired by a member of the ruling party, was the only Tory councillor, to speak out publicly about the decision, posting on his social media page and saying:
“If this is how NNC is going to be ran [sic], I’ll be putting serious consideration into whether this is an organisation I wish to continue being a part of.”
At Monday’s meeting at Corby Cube, the majority of his colleagues voted against action being taken against Cllr Brown.
However, NN Journal has learned there is concern about how the investigation into Cllr Brown was handled.
NN Journal has heard from a number of sources that private WhatsApp messages were shown on a large screen which showed discussion between Cllr Brown and executive member Cllr Matt Binley.
The messages reportedly were uncomplimentary about other councillors. After answering a few questions, Cllr Brown left the meeting and there was a group discussion in which many said they thought the messages should not have been revealed.
One councillor who was at the meeting said the way the investigation had been handled was ‘wrong’.
They said:
“I think Scott is a fantastic councillor and I don't think the party should be scared of scrutiny. He may sometimes communicate a bit incorrectly, but I think his heart is in the right place.”
Cllr Brown spoke to NN Journal yesterday.
He said:
“I was happy that no action was taken.
“I’m sure anybody who has their private messages revealed would rather they were not made public.
“At no point did the recipient of these messages indicate they had offended him.”
He said he had apologised to those mentioned in the messages and had learned a lesson about communicating with other councillors.
He continues to stand by his criticism of the council’s executive on the green waste collection issue.
He said:
“My stance on green waste stands. I said I have not taken the post down and I would not take it down. It is a fair representation of what people in my ward think.”
Cllr Smithers said the content of the messages formed part of the investigation and it was for the group to decide the action against Cllr Brown.
The Conservative group has been rubbing along quite harmoniously since the elections last May, at which it was elected with a huge majority. However there has been discontent voiced from the opposition about the dominance of councillors from the East of the county on the executive and the lack of any Corby councillors on the executive. There have also been repeated accusations of the executive not listening to public consultations or consulting the wider council about big decisions such as trying to take out an injunction against the home office.
The legal action taken against the authority by former pub landlord Geoff Monks also caused upset in the early days as many thought the authority was carrying the can and paying the bill for mistakes made by the previous East Northamptonshire Council - which was disbanded in 2021 in the unitary reorganisation. The sores of this episode are still running through the party and a source told NN Journal that a vote of confidence in leader Cllr Smithers could be on the horizon.
I have met with Cllr Brown on numerous occasions. We disagree on many issues and I have made it very clear that I would never vote for a Conservative candidate. That being said we have treated each other with respect and discussed a variety of issues. Cllr Brown is a man of principle and is not afraid of ruffling a few feathers by sticking to his principles. Many of his Tory colleagues on the Council and our local MP Heaton-Harris could do far worse than follow Cllr Brown's example. He always answers emails and is willing to meet face to face to discuss concerns. He is visible around the village of Earls Barton and does a far better job than other local Councillors standing up for the people of the village in particular and North Northants in general. He has done far more in the short time he has been a Councillor than many of his colleagues who have been Councillors (or MPs) for years or even decades. Rather than get rid of him you should be more like him and North Northants would be a much better run Council than it is at present.
Councillors should represent the voters who elected them. In some nations, politicans face the chop for expressing their opinions. That says more about the fragile ego of the leaders than about the merit of the cause. Thank goodness we live in a democracy in the UK.